


Chapter Two: Mail Call

by verucasalt123



Series: The Story Begins [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-01-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 08:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/620187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verucasalt123/pseuds/verucasalt123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The terror of sheer happiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter Two: Mail Call

**Author's Note:**

> The Story Begins - Chapter 2/30

It was a bright cold day in April when Sam Winchester sprinted around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of their latest rental. Dropping his backpack onto the ground at his feet, he was relieved to see that his father and brother hadn’t unexpectedly come home early from their latest hunt. Reaching into the mailbox, his heart was pounding, and not just from the six-block run he’d just made from the school. He’d thought maybe his mail from Bobby would have arrived yesterday and had been terribly disappointed when it hadn’t.

Today, though, along with the usual junk and fliers, there was a large brown envelope addressed to him in Bobby’s surprisingly neat cursive. To be honest, he hadn’t wrestled with too much guilt when he’d asked Bobby to help him with this last year. If (when) his dad found out that Bobby had been Sam’s co-conspirator in this endeavor, he’s end up on John’s shitlist in a hot second. But hell, the two of them argued on the regular but they always mended fences eventually. Besides, Sam _needed_ help, and he was damn well going to get it, even if it meant putting Bobby in a difficult position.

He grabbed his backpack and hauled it inside along with the mail. He didn’t know which school this letter was from, but he knew it was a response to one of his stealthily submitted college applications. The fees had been too high for him to send off as many as he wanted, so he’d narrowed it down to four. He went straight to his bedroom and sat down, just staring at the envelope. He even shut the door behind him, like he had to hide even though he was home alone.

And wasn’t that a bitch? Even if he was in a houseful of family, he shouldn’t have to hide something like this. Over the past year, he hadn’t spoken to his father unless their voices were raised, and even Dean, who he’d looked up to all his life, was distant most of the time. Sam figured he had his own part in that, the two of them just didn’t seem to see eye to eye on anything these days; the easy camaraderie that had always been there between them frayed close to broken.

Turning the envelope over and over in his hand, he finally got the nerve to open it. Clearly, whatever was inside wasn’t just a letter, it was a packet of some kind. So, probably, not a rejection. Not that Sam thought he was going to be rejected by any of these schools – maybe he was arrogant but he knew he more than met the admission standards for all of them. He even assumed he’d be able to get some merit-based scholarships, hopefully even enough student loans to scrape together money for tuition, and he’d worry about the rest of it when he got the fuck away from here.

Sliding the smaller, white envelope from the larger one that Bobby had sent, Sam’s eyes flew wide and he broke out into a full-on grin when he saw the logo on the envelope, the block red ‘S’ in the top left corner. Jesus Christ, Stanford was his first choice, and it was the first school to respond. With trembling fingers, he ripped it open and dumped the colorful pamphlets and instructional leaflets onto the mattress, concentrating on the letter that was on top.

_…pleased to admit you to the freshman class of 2001…part of our exciting and diverse program…historical campus buildings…full scholarship…_

Sam stopped right there. Went back and read it again. Looked up at the ceiling. Down at the letter. Back to the sentence, halfway down the page. **Full scholarship**. They wanted him there enough that they weren’t even going to make him pay?

He wanted to shout, and cry, and jump on his bed like a little kid.

He wanted someone to call to share this fantastic news with. He wanted his family to be proud of him. He didn’t want to fold up the whole thing and hide it in the bottom of his duffel.

But that’s what he did. It’s what he had to do.


End file.
